Category Archives: Chants

Chants, Scripture

Rise Up, Oh Well: Ali v’er

Ali v’er ehnu-lah
Hebrew: Rise Up, Oh Well
Rise up, Oh Well,
Chant Her up. (Bamidbar 21:17)

After the prophet Miriam dies, the people are thirsty. She represents our connection to the deep source of Divine Feminine Flow. When we are cut off from that flow, we become profoundly irritable. Our thirst for Shechinah manifests as bitter complaint, negativity and the death of joy. And then we call to the well, the well of living waters that is hidden within.

This is a practice of calling, chanting up the flow of living waters that has been stopped up, and is now ready to rise up and nurture the world.

To hear the various parts of the chant, use the audio players. To download a part, right-click a note and save (or download) the linked MP3 file.

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Rise Up, Oh Well PDF.

Chants, Liturgy, Psalms

Celebration in Praise: Kol Ha’n’shama

Hilulah, hilulah, hilulah, Halleluyah!
Hilulah, hilulah, hilulah, Halleluyah!
Kol Ha’n’shama t’hallelyah,
Kol Ha’n’shama t’hallelyah
Hebrew for Celebration In Praise
It’s a Celebration of Praise;
Let all souls praise Yah! (Psalm 150:6)
 
The word Hilulah in modern Hebrew, means celebration. In the Chasidic world, the term has come to mean a celebration in praise and honor of some great sage on the anniversary of their death. We celebrate not only to have a good time, but to honor that teacher and connect with the flow, wisdom and love of a life-well-lived. Through our celebration, we enter that flow, receive that wisdom and open to the possibility of living in the light of that love.

To hear the chant, use the audio player. To download the chant, right-click the note and save (or download) the linked MP3 file.

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Celebration in Praise PDF. To download the musical notation, click Celebration in Praise Notation PDF.

Chants, Liturgy, Scripture

Entering in to the Larger Goodness: Mah Tovu

Mah tovu ohalecha Ya’akov, mish’k’notecha Yisra’eyl.
Va’ani b’rov chas’d’cha, avo betecha.
Mah Tovu Hebrew
How good are your tents, Jacob;
your Divine dwelling places, Israel. (Numbers 24:5)
By your grace, I will enter your house. (Psalm 5:8)

There is a larger Goodness that holds all of the good and the bad, a Unity that holds within it all of the duality. When we enter into that larger Goodness, we can get enough perspective to be able to bless the process of transformation that is in play at this very moment. We are in the process of transforming our Jacob (the heel who is always trying to make a deal with Reality) into Israel (the one who encounters Reality directly). And we are in the process of transforming our plain old tent (body and material existence) into a Mishkan (a place where the Divine Spirit is invited to dwell). Trusting in this process of transformation, we can enter fully into God-consciousness, which can only be attained through Grace.

Rabbi Rami Shapiro teaches that “Grace is God’s unlimited, unconditional, unconditioned, and all-inclusive love for all Creation.” And yes, that’s exactly what opens the door to The Larger Goodness.

To hear the various parts of the chant, use the audio players. To download a part, right-click a note and save (or download) the linked MP3 file.

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Entering in to the Larger Goodness PDF.

Chants, Psalms

A Steadfast Heart: Nachon libi

Nachon libi Elohim,
Ashira va’azamra af k’vodi
A Steadfast Heart Hebrew (Psalm 108.2)
My Heart is steadfast, Oh God;
I will sing and chant even with my soul. (Psalm 108:2)

When my heart becomes steady, firm in its commitment, resolute in its love, unwavering in its loyalty to the Unity of Being… then the music of my soul can soar. When my song is anchored in the steadfast heart, each note expresses and magnifies my love. The energy of the heart unlocks the fullness of my soul’s glory.

To hear the various parts of the chant, use the audio players. To download a part, right-click a note and save (or download) the linked MP3 file.

To download the PDF file for this chant, click A Steadfast Heart PDF. For the musical notation, click one of the musical notations for A Steadfast Heart Music: A minor, B minor, or B-flat minor.

NOTE: The provided MP3 versions are in B-flat minor.

Chants, Psalms

Yours: L’cha yom

L’cha yom af-l’cha laila
Yours (Psalm 74.16) in Hebrew
Yours is the day; Yours is the night.
Yours is the dark and Yours is the light,
I am Yours and You are mine;
where ever I look it is You I find. (Psalm 74:16)

There is a love inside me that is almost unbearable. It makes no sense, and I often just shut it down, bottle it up or let this force of love simmer within me. Sometimes, when I find a way to express this love fully, I let it out as a great wave of devotion and service. It is such a relief. When I came across this line in Psalm 74, I felt so grateful to have found a vehicle for this inner force of surrender to the One. The relief comes from releasing the illusion of control, letting go into the widest, wildest embrace, and dissolving the excruciating tension of Duality.

(To magnify the surrendering force of this practice I add bowing. In the downward motion, I give myself over and empty; and in the upward motion, I receive the gift that has been waiting for me.)

To hear the various parts of the chant, use the audio players. To download a part, right-click a note and save (or download) the linked MP3 file.

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Yours PDF.